Unlocking a Configurational Perspective of Institutional Logics: Market Entry Actions by U.S. Landfills, 1970-2014

Abstract

My dissertation addresses three overarching research questions: 1) Given the differences in institutional logics that underlie organizations that are based on a state logic or a market logic (i.e.,focused on compliance with minimum regulatory requirements versus maximizing profit), why are organizations based on one logic more likely to enter a market than the other? 2) How does the hybridization of both logics influence market entry decisions? 3) How do values instantiated within the surrounding geographical community influence market entry by organizations based on one logic or the other? While much of the literature on institutional entrepreneurship has focused on market entry actions by market-logic based organizations, I develop and test theory about how state logic based organizations enter the renewable energy generation market.

In doing so, I contribute to the institutional logics literature by helping clarify the mechanisms by which a state logic influences organizational entrepreneurship. I also contribute to theory by looking at the influence of public-private partnerships, organizational size, and community-level political ideology on market entry and risk-taking. This study uses a unique dataset on over 2,400 landfills in the United States from the years between 1970 and 2014. Data have been gathered at the state, community, organization, and project level for each landfill in the population.